Worksurface (i.e. worktop) arrangements are extensively utilized, particularly in the office environment. Such worksurface arrangements are utilized in many forms and configurations, and in many office environments are supported on and project outwardly in a cantilevered manner from an upright space divider panel. In other usages the worksurface arrangement functions as the top of a freestanding table or desk.
The worksurface arrangement is conventionally constructed utilizing a structural core, often of particle board, having a hard plastic sheet adhesively secured to upper and vertical edge surfaces thereof. Such worksurface arrangements, while providing a hard and durable working surface, are nevertheless considered "unfriendly" to the user since they are extremely hard to the touch and can cause significant discomfort when the user rests bony protrusions such as an elbow or wrist thereon or accidentally impacts thereagainst. Further, these worksurface arrangements often have sharp corners or edges where the top and side surfaces join, and these corners are uncomfortable and, in fact, can be painful to the user under circumstances involving accidental impact and/or long-term contact with such surfaces, edges and corners.
In an attempt to improve the propeties of the worksurface arrangement, it is conventional to secure an edge strip around the core, which edge strip conventionally comprises an extruded element having limited resiliency. This edge strip is normally provided with a securing flange (such as a Christmas-tree type securing flange) which is inserted into an elongate groove formed in and extending around the peripheral edge of the core. While this provides a durable and somewhat resilient front edge and corner to the worksurface arrangement, nevertheless the use of this edge strip increases the manufacturing complexities and costs. Further, the edge strip often projects either slightly above or below the top surface of the worksurface and either interferes with use of the top surface or provides an unsightly appearance. Hence, even though these edge strips have been used for many years, they nevertheless do possess many well recognized disadvantages.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved worksurface arrangement which is more "user friendly", namely a worksurface arrangement having a soft and resilient surface so as to overcome the disadvantages associated with known worksurface arrangement.
According to the present invention, the "user friendly" worksurface arrangement has a resilient monolithic cover or shell which totally covers both the upper surface and all of the vertical edge surfaces so as to provide softness and resiliency for the upper and edge surfaces and also for the corners and edges, thereby providing improved user comfort when using the worksurface arrangement, while at the same time providing an upper working surface having enhanced properties or characteristics such as when used for writing.
Another desirable feature of the resilient monolithic cover is that it is flexible. This flexibility allows for worksurfaces that can articulate or bend positively or negatively along a given line or lines without introducing cracks or gaps in the surface and thus provide improved ergonomics by means of adding adjustabilities not possible with other surface construction methods.
The resilient underlayment provides a further advantage by means of acting as a separator between the core and the surface materials. As such both the core and the surface can expand and shrink at different rates due to temperatures and/or humidity changes without affecting each other through build up of excessive internal stresses which evidences itself as warpage. The resilient underlayment absorbs the minute dimensional differences between the core and the surface material through a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions and thereby significantly reduces the problem of warpage in the "user friendly" worksurface.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the worksurface arrangement includes an enlarged sheetlike structural core having a horizontally enlarged upper surface bounded by generally vertical edge surfaces, which structural core may be constructed of particle board or other suitable material. The upper and side surfaces of the core are covered by a thin sheetlike laminate which provides soft surfaces and edges so as to be more comfortable to the touch and the resting and support of forearms, but which also provides desirable impact wear and chemical resistance. The laminate includes an outer thin layer of a thermoplastic material disposed in overlying relationship to an inner layer of resilient foam material. These two layers are preferably secured together, as by an adhesive, and the upper thermoplastic layer has a thickness which is a small fraction of the thickness of the underlying resilient foam layer, which latter layer is itself relatively thin. The laminate is disposed so that it totally overlies the upper surface of the core with the resilient foam layer being disposed in direct contact with the upper surface of the core. The edges of the laminate are suitably deformed so as to effectively wrap around and snugly embrace the peripheral edge surfaces of the core.
In a preferred embodiment the thin thermoplastic layer preferably has a thickness in the range of about 0.020 inch to about 0.035 inch, and the resilient foam layer has a thickness of about 1/8 inch.
Other structural and functional aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following description.